How to Set Up Coverage

This section is an overview of how to enter into an agreement with OMERS to set up Supplemental Plan coverage for a class or classes of employees who are police, firefighters or paramedics. For specific details on the Supplemental Plan, see the Employer Administration Manual.

Interested groups and employers can ask OMERS to host a Supplemental Plan meeting (a fee applies). Hosting this information session will ensure that interested parties have an opportunity to ask questions and are fully aware of the Supplemental Plan provisions, cost considerations, and the steps required to offer the benefits and to enrol members.

An employer proceeding to set up a Supplemental Plan benefit should:

1. Review all information available online or through a Supplemental Plan meeting.
2. Obtain a cost estimate via e-access using the e-Form 301.
3. Notify OMERS of their intent to adopt a bylaw or resolution and the timelines for implementation.
4. Adopt a bylaw or resolution authorizing coverage.
5. Enter into a Coverage Agreement with OMERS to set up coverage.
6. Use the e-Form 300 – via e-access – to set up coverage for a class or classes of employees.
7. Remit contributions as appropriate including any retroactive contributions (earliest effective date is July 1, 2008).

For information on requesting a cost estimate for a benefit, see Request a Cost Estimate.

Setting Up an Agreement

To enter into an agreement with OMERS to set up Supplemental Plan coverage for a class or classes of employees (see the Employer Administration Manual for the definition of a class), the employer must:

1. Adopt a bylaw or resolution authorizing the provision of coverage to the class or classes and enter into or amend a coverage agreement with OMERS. The agreement effective date may be retroactive (but no earlier than July 1, 2008).
   
   The bylaw or resolution and the attached coverage agreement must be sent to OMERS together.
2. Use the e-Form 300 – Supplemental Plan agreement setup to set up coverage for the selected class or classes of employees. For instructions on how to use the e-Form 300 see the e-Form 300 information page  [597 KB] and e-access Help.
3. If the agreement effective date is retroactive, remit member and employer retroactive contributions to OMERS as a lump-sum payment.

Downloadable Templates for Employers

Employers must use the templates provided below for the bylaw or resolution and the coverage agreement.

The templates are Microsoft Word documents in read-only format. Once the template is downloaded, customize it for your group by entering and selecting text as indicated.

Important: Do not revise the text in the templates – only enter information or select text as indicated. Revising the text will nullify the document and/or delay the set-up process.

Templates for Municipalities, Cities and Towns

The templates are password protected. The password is posted in e-access Help in the Supplemental Plan section under “Setting up coverage”.

Instructions: Right click on the link and save – do NOT use it within the browser.

Download Bylaw template 
Download Coverage Agreement template 

Templates for Boards and Associations:

Download Resolution template 
Download Coverage Agreement template 

Reminder: Once a supplemental benefit is set up, no further supplemental benefits can be provided for the covered class of employees for at least 36 months. 

Once Coverage is Set Up

When an employer sets up Supplemental Plan coverage for a class or classes of employees:

• The benefit applies to all members identified within the class of employees being covered – a member within the class may not “opt out” of the benefit. Although coverage is set up for all members of the class or classes, some members may not make Supplemental Plan contributions (e.g., a member whose per pay period earnings exceed the amount that generates the maximum pension allowable by the Income Tax Act (ITA) would not make Supplemental Plan contributions.)
• The benefit is earned on a go-forward basis and funded by member and employer contributions. These contributions are in addition to contributions required for the Primary Plan. (The coverage starts on the effective date as specified in the agreement between the employer and OMERS or the member's enrolment date, if later.)
• OMERS will provide costing information for members who have past service available to purchase:
  • Past service is credited service in the Primary Plan that a member earned before the coverage start date of the member's supplemental benefit.
  • The past service cost is the present value of the future benefit being purchased and is paid by the member. Refer to the Service Purchases section for more details.
  • The costings include past service on OMERS records at the time the statement is produced. Past service not yet posted to a member's record (e.g., current year service) can be purchased once it appears on the member's Pension Report.

Retroactive Coverage

A Supplemental Plan coverage start date may be retroactive to an earlier period in the year or to a previous year. When this occurs:

• The employer must deduct retroactive contributions for each member who was an active member of the class of employees for which coverage is being provided. If the member is not currently part of the class, but was during some or all of the retroactive period, the applicable retroactive contributions must be deducted in a lump sum.
• The retroactive contributions are based on the contributory earnings and Supplemental Plan contribution rate that was in effect for each year in the retroactive period. This is consistent with how retroactive pay is handled in the Primary Plan.
• Interest will not be charged on the retroactive contributions if the contributions are made within 60 days of the date the employer enters into (i.e., signs) the OMERS Supplemental Pension Plan for Police, Firefighters and Paramedics Coverage Agreement.
• The retroactive contributions are treated as current year contributions on our records:
  • Retroactive interest is not applied to the contributions on the member's record (i.e., interest accrues from the year the contributions are paid, not the year to which they apply).
  • Recording the contributions as current year contributions is consistent with how the contributions are reported for income tax purposes and with how contributions on retroactive pay increases are handled in the Primary Plan.
• When there is retroactive coverage for previous calendar years and the benefit is the 2.33% accrual rate, OMERS will calculate a past service pension adjustment (PSPA) for the previous years' retroactive period and report it to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA will subtract the PSPA from each member's RRSP room and notify the member if there isn't enough RRSP room. In this case, the member would contact OMERS to discuss their options. If there isn't enough room and the member does not free up RRSP room, the coverage start date for that member would change and member and employer contributions for the period prior to the revised coverage start date would be returned.
  
  Note: PSPA reporting only applies to the 2.33% accrual rate benefit; it does not apply to other Supplemental Plan benefits.

Supplemental Plan benefits are not automatically provided. Employers can set up Supplemental Plan coverage for a class or classes of members in the police sector, firefighters and paramedics.